Eiffel Tower is a landmark in the city of Paris, Tennessee. This structure is a model of the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Background

Origin at Christian Brothers University

Engineering students at

Christian Brothers University Christian Brothers University is a private Roman Catholic higher education institution in Memphis, Tennessee. It was founded in 1871 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, a Catholic teaching order. History Christian Brothers University w ...

originally constructed the tower to commemorate the 1990

Memphis in May Memphis in May International Festival is a month-long festival held in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, which is saluting Ghana in 2022, honors a specific foreign country every year and features many events. The ''Beale Street Music Festival'' ...

festival. Each year, the festival honors a country, and 1990 focused on

. According to

Brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Patrick O'Brien, a public relations official for the university at the time: " he towerwas the centerpiece of one of our most popular quads." Regardless, the wooden tower was a temporary structure. Moreover, it could not remain at the university because students began to climb it even though it could not support their weight.

Finding a new home in Paris

In April 1991, the Paris- Henry County Chamber of Commerce sponsored "Paris U.S.A.," an event created to celebrate the shared charm of the fifteen U.S. cities named for the French capital. Representatives from five Parises accepted their invitations to enjoy Paris U.S.A. in Paris, Tennessee. During the fall of that year, Brother Patrick O'Brien remembered the celebration and asked Paris if it would be interested in accepting a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower. The city accepted, and the job began.

Construction and reconstruction

Initial construction

The tower was designed to scale by Tom Morrison, professor emeritus of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

; Jim Jacobs, assistant professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

; and Roland Raffanti, engineering lab technician, from Christian Brothers University. According to Brother Patrick O'Brien, Morrison designed the model based on the original drawings of

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

. At tall, the tower is a nearly perfect 1:20 scale replica of the original. Built through the labor of more than 10,000 hours donated by CBU students, faculty, alumni, and friends, the tower contains 500 pieces of Douglas fir and 6,000 steel rods. The monument was assembled in CBU's Buckman Quadrangle. After CBU dismantled the tower, the parts were delivered to Paris in February 1992 and given two coats of paint. The Paris Public Works Department reassembled the tower in Memorial Park.

Dedication

The landmark was dedicated January 29, 1993. Paris acknowledged CBU's generous gesture with a joyful dedication ceremony and a plaque at the base of the tower.

Strengthening the structure

After deterioration to the wood structure, Keith Jackson, owner of Precision Grinding and Machine of Paris, recreated the original wood replica into a steel structure that still stands today. To accomplish the feat, PGM constructed the tower in three sections and trailered each section to Memorial Park where it was finally erected.

Footnotes

{{Reflist Towers in Tennessee Eiffel Tower reproductions Towers completed in 1992 Buildings and structures in Henry County, Tennessee Christian Brothers University Tourist attractions in Henry County, Tennessee Roadside attractions in Tennessee Paris, Tennessee 1992 establishments in Tennessee